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I'm new to cub scouting. I am the CM of our pack and the Tiger den leader. I am going through the Duty to God with my Tigers and since I am pastor of my church I wanted to lead our scouts through this.

Most of what I have learned is hours and hours of scavenging the internet. However, the one question I can't get answer very straight forward is this.

Does the adult religious knot, the purple knot on silver background, have to be earned or is it nominated on?

I understand the honor of nominating leaders for awards however when a new pack starts up, there aren't many that know there are awards that are received through nomination. So a lot of leaders miss out on being awarded.

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As @blu said, the rules for each religious award are governed by that faith, usually by a committee designated for that purpose. The award itself if conferred by the Church, not by the BSA.

In reviewing the awards, it does appear that for most of the awards, it is based on a nomination, for others there are requirements for completion which are usually different from the youth awards. Sometimes it appears to be kind of a combination where there are requirements/goals/expectations and a nominator is used to verify that you have completed those goals. Being a pastor yourself, I guess normally they would expect you to nominate other adults you are associated with, if you think it appropriate; to receive a nomination yourself or to complete task requirements you may have to work with a fellow pastor.

For the specific issues involved, I recommend you contact the committee listed for the specific award you are looking at:

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I'm an ordained minister, worked with Scouting for 40+ years, got knots for many of my boys, but don't have the knot for myself. I was told that to seek the nomination would be awkward for all concerned.

They draw a distinction between "awards" for youth and "recognitions" for adults, and there are two different knots, as described in the following portions of that document; there are pictures of the knots there too. I noticed in looking at a couple of the links that while the adult recognitions are by nomination, some have specific criteria for nominating someone.

What is the adult religious recognition program?

An adult religious recognition award is presented by nomination only. The recognition is presented to worthy adults for their outstanding service to youth both through their religious institution and one of the national youth agencies. Recipients of these awards are unaware that they are being nominated. They are nominated to receive an award by submitting the required application, letters of recommendation, and resume. Please check eligibility requirements for specific awards.

Which religious emblem square knot should I wear?

Cloth, silver knot on purple, No. 5007, may be worn by youth or adult members who earned the knot as a youth, above left pocket. Cloth, purple on silver, No. 5014, may be worn by adult members presented with the recognition, above left pocket. Adults may wear both knots if they satisfy qualifying criteria. (See the Guide to Awards and Insignia, No. 33066.)

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I'm an ordained minister, worked with Scouting for 40+ years, got knots for many of my boys, but don't have the knot for myself. I was told that to seek the nomination would be awkward for all concerned.

Perhaps even more awkward is that in looking at the requirements for the Shofar (Jewish) recognition, I wish I had known about it while my father was still around. I would have nominated him or gotten someone in his troop to do so, since his promotion of the youth religious awards and related activities really took place more after I was an adult and out of the house and not really aware of his day-to-day activities. He didn't really need another knot, but I think he would have appreciated the recognition, especially when it was becoming clear that his time was short.

Oh well... sorry for the self-indulgence.

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I'm an ordained minister, worked with Scouting for 40+ years, got knots for many of my boys, but don't have the knot for myself. I was told that to seek the nomination would be awkward for all concerned.

I kinda feel that way about all the knots. I felt a little bit funny about pursuing any of them.

On the other hand, and I think to the OP's point,

there is I suppose some value for the scouts to see their adult counterparts pursuing the similar things....just as we wear the uniform for "unity". Somewhere i remember reading something like that once, as one of the purposes for leader awards.

I also don't put a lot of stock in the knots as a whole, but just as I don't want a lot of pats on the back for other things I do appreciate acknowledgement once in a long while for my time and effort.

I only wear one, the training award. I hesitated to do it at first, but I did pursue it and pushed the paperwork myself.

There was one or two others that I would have appreciated receiving when I was Cubmaster but never got. The scouter's key and I think one other....

And I felt that as a very active and engaged ADL for several years I would have appreciated getting the Den Leader Training award too.....but that one doesn't apply to Assistants.

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I've told folks before, I never was in scouts so with my son, this is my only chance to be a part of it. I would like to pursue some awards because it helps me stay the course and I like the idea of showing our scouts that their leaders are interested in doing our best as well.

I'm an ordained minister, worked with Scouting for 40+ years, got knots for many of my boys, but don't have the knot for myself. I was told that to seek the nomination would be awkward for all concerned.

I do agree though, seeking a nomination is awkward. That's why I don't like the idea of nominations because nobody knows those are available. But that's coming from someone who never had the opportunity to be awarded. Oh well...

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I do agree though, seeking a nomination is awkward. That's why I don't like the idea of nominations because nobody knows those are available. But that's coming from someone who never had the opportunity to be awarded. Oh well...

From the requirements I looked at earlier, it looks like one's chance to be nominated would probably increase if one were active in the nearest available (Insert name of your religion or denomination here) Committee on Scouting. Just what you were looking for, another hour a week (or month, or less) to spend on Scouting!

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@@KevinRiner, since you are both a CM and tiger den leader you should be awarded more than a knot. What you're doing is wonderful and whatever recognition you'd like I hope you get. Staying the course does require some recognition so go for it and don't be shy. It may take many years until the boys you work with are mature enough to say thank you, but it's worth the wait. That is the best recognition. In the meantime I hope some parents will also thank you.

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Knots and awards depend on (1) What you do and/or (2) what people see you doing. Thus, some awards are EARNED and some are AWARDED.

For instance, one can BUY a James West knot. One must be "nominated" and awarded the District Award of Merit (the DAM knot) knot. There are various knots for Scout Leaders, Commissioners, and other folks. It does take some research to find out how each one is obtained. There are forms and score sheets to fill out.

When my good wife was going to go to Camp School for Cub Scout Day Camp Directors, we decided (she thought) it would be good to have some bling on her uniform, so we did some research and discovered she had qualified for a couple of Cub Leader awards. Presto! she had two knots. After her stint as CSDC Director, she was awarded the DAM for her efforts, well deserved in my humble opinion.

As to the religious awards, as has been said, they are not BSA bling and should not be considered such. The BSA says they are allowed on the BSA uniform, but the faith decides how the Scout should earn it.

Speaking as a Jamboree Chaplain, I do not know of any adult faith award that is individually, purposely earned by the Scouter, perhaps some faith allows that, but I do not know of such. The faiths I am familiar with require the adult be "nominated" for the adult recognition. It always entails an active involvement in Scouting and the faith. The trick is that anyone can nominate someone for the adult recognition, just find out the responsible body (committee) that administers that faith's awards and contact them. All the faith liaisons are listed in the BSA (http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Awards/ReligiousAwards.aspx ) website, do not depend on PRAY (https://www.praypub.org/) for that information, as PRAY has become very particular about what faith awards they help administer.

As ordained clergy, you should be able to contact your Scout Liaison Committee to find out about this topic. Granted, some faiths are more Scout friendly than others.

As to your Tigers earning their Religious Award, I trust they are all of your faith? It would not be correct to try and require any Scout to earn any particular Religious Award. You can, of course, encourage them to earn (with their parents help!) the emblem of their particular faith.

Good Scouting to you, KevinRiner, remember the Cub Scout Mantra ! KiSMiF, KiSMiF.... keep it simple, make it fun! See you on the trail!

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@@KevinRiner, I think the best strategy for you is to think who in your faith community should be nominated for such an award, and to get with the committee, as @@SSScout described, and submit those parishioners' for nomination. Drum up enthusiasm over the long haul. That way even if you yourself don't get an award, you can be proud of the many good people who rightly get the recognition they deserve thanks to your due diligence.